Swap
by Wannabe Mischief
Summary: An explosion causes problems for both factions and their leaders.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The Decepticons had finally taken the the war spanning millennia and the death toll rising higher, the Autobot command had decided that they needed to go on the offensive. The interplanetary war was beginning to destroy a second planet, one that was young and the promise to become something great.

Very little was known about the warmonger side as archives and records had been destroyed, rewritten or sacrificed to preserve power for more necessary areas. What was known was hard to distinguish from the myths and legends created.

The only thing the Autobots cared about was that their enemies were almost universally violent, self-interested and xenophobic. This was what they had hoped to change.

The trap had been simple to plan and even more simple to enact. It was common knowledge that Soundwave had one or more pairs of optics plastered on the Ark and those inside. All it had taken were some whispered conversations, misplaced datapads and accidentally spoken words.

The battlefield was chosen carefully away from both the Ark and any human civilisations. It had been the first place the Decepticons had chosen to build their space bridge. The high cliffs gave snipers the perfect place to shoot from while the Seekers had limited area to fly.

Mirage had been sent into the Nemesis to bring back any information that he could about the Cons that were available to be deployed. What had come back was not unexpected; most would be able to deploy excluding Starscream who was to be held back in the brig.

Even if it was unexpected, it was a big blow. Starscream was one of the few Decepticons they had hoped to trap being high in rank, leader of the Seekers, a clever scientist and one of the few pillars to their cause. There was no mention of the former friendship that had existed between the Seeker and Skyfire.

Megatron once again proved that he was, if anything, unpredictable. They had expected him to assault their test site as soon as the invention was safely set up but that had been hours before and still they waited.

Maybe Soundwave had found out more than what they had let slip.

As the hours rolled by without the tell-tale war cry the Autobots began to relax. Wheeljack walked over to talk to Ratchet in one of the crevasses hidden in the canyon while the guards and snipers became more alert for attack.

Boredom became more of a problem as the day progressed towards evening with still no sign of the Decepticons. At one point Sunstreaker and Sideswipe had bounded out from where they were supposed to be hiding to ask if they could shoot someone... well they were sent back with two massive dents curtsey of Ratchets returning wrench.

Packing up was a massive disappointment since the entire operation had taken the majority of a year to plan and put into action. That and most of the Autobots didn't want to drag the heavy invention back out of the canyon when it had taken them three full hours to get it in.

Well they were all horrified and delighted when they found out they only had to drag it halfway out when the Decepticons finally attacked. They had waited until the Autobots were at their most exhausted and unable to defend themselves properly.

Around the canyon Autobots leaped out of hiding and started shooting at their enemies who were still standing on the canyon edge.

Hoist and Grapple were trying as hard as they could to maneuver the large and heavy piece of machinery out as the Seekers descended. Somehow even with just the six Seekers the Autobots were having trouble getting a shot in. It almost seemed as though they were working together and cooperating.

It had been a long gone conclusion; that without Starscream leading they would work better as the destructive force that they were known to be. It was a complete shock to realise that not only was Starscream not in the brig as was known but was leading the Seekers in their altogether competent aerial assault.

One lucky shot from Bluestreak later and Starscream was sent spiraling down to Earth, coming to a complete stop within the hologram that Hound had created to hide the real invention which was a small laser (which looked kind of like Megatron's alt mode). They had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to get either Megatron or Soundwave before they were found and attacked.

"This machine belongs to us Prime"

Up until that point Megatron had stayed on the canyon edge watching the battle unfold. They would have had the perfect shot if the invention had been in place.

Jumping quickly down, Megatron grabbed Prime out of the tussle he was in with Soundwave and threw him into a clear patch of land. There always seemed to be a gap between Prime, Megatron and the rest of the battle as if they were afraid that they would be getting in the way of something that must happen.

The strain of moving something so large and heavy so quickly was telling on Hoist and Grapple and it didn't take long for the wires holding the machine up snapped sending the machine down and the builders falling backwards.

The sudden crashing of the dummy invention somehow jerked Starscream out of his crash induced coma. With a shake of his helm and a twitch of his wings the Air Commander and Second in Command of the Decepticon army turned to face the two in front of him with a look of dumb incomprehension on his face.

As Starscreams optics locked onto Wheeljacks the inventor nervously squeezed the trigger a little harder. The red crystals were filled with malice, hatred, pain and another emotion to which Wheeljack could not read. As the Seeker stumbled Wheeljack instinctively pulled the trigger and a blinding line of white hit the still shocked Seeker sending him falling down to the ground again.

"Eh should it be making that sound?"

The invention in question was making a high-pitched whistling sound and was beginning to glow an ominous green colour. Just as the invention began to shake violently, a sky blue hand yanked it out of Hounds hand and threw it out into the battle.

The explosion was deafening.

* * *

><p><em>AN: I am still sorry about pulling my work... I just didn't feel like it was up to scratch. I had actually planned on getting this out a week ago but got caught up with life. I got a new tattoo that is currently moulting and making me want to scratch it right off. Ah well I hope you like it and I would love to thank my beta the insane one of another mind for reading over the slag that I call writing and making sure it is up to scratch. While writing this I wrote Starscream out and when I came back started to write him in... so that is why this sounds a bit weird when it comes to him._


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Combatants from both factions could only stare as the dust and debris from the explosion cleared to reveal both Optimus Prime and Megatron unconscious in a fairly decent sized crater. It would seem the overloading device had fallen practically at their pedes and both were unable to get out of the way.

In the minutes that ticked slowly past no one knew what to do. With Megatron and Starscream out of commission it fell down to Soundwave to rally the troops and do what Decepticons did best – retreat. Starscream was left in the mangled mess that he had collapsed in.

Ratchet had made his way to their esteemed leader as soon as Soundwave had removed Megatron and was doing some preliminary scans.

"Nothing seems to have been damaged but I can't do much here. What state is the prisoner in?"

Hound had been busy securing Starscream with a pair of stasis cuffs. It was usual procedure that if the Seeker were to be damaged during a fight that the Autobots would be taking him back to base and bargaining him back to the Decepticons. This time was no different.

"He's unconscious, but I can't find any reason for it"

The CMO huffed and sidled up to the scout, Hound may have been trained for minor field treatment he lacked the sophisticated equipment that Ratchet had. Starscreams scans turned up just like Optimus'- absolutely nothing wrong that Ratchet could find.

It was only fortunate that Ratchet was close to the Seeker as Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were looking at Starscream with a bored expression on their faces. That would either indicate that they were going to do something that was not within the Autobot rules regarding the treatment of prisoners and that they would eventually receives a wrench to the helms.

Minutes later and a familiar shape appeared on the horizon. Skyfire had requested that he be kept out of any and all battles having no desire to fight. Optimus had compromised with the Shuttle making sure that he was available when there was an injury that needed to be transported urgently to the Ark.

Skyfire had kept his opinions quiet when he heard that Wheeljacks invention had not worked as it was meant to. He had helped far too many times cleaning up the inventor's workstation after an accidental explosion to be too startled. Nor was he startled when they dragged the unconscious Starscream aboard.

Once Optimus and Starscream were comfortably strapped down and Skyfire had taken off the tirade began.

"You swore that this would work Wheeljack. Did you even test this before dragging us all the way out here?"

Wheeljack looked suitable ashamed as he silently commed Skyfire for his assistance and backup but was a little shocked when he received a negative.

"Of course I did. Perceptor can back that up when we return to the Ark"

Not one of the other Autobots were making the tiniest noise. They didn't want Ratchets anger directed at them and they were too busy watching him yell and scream at Wheeljack. Usually their little arguments were contained to the med bay and were off limits to most of their comrades.

"Oh then tell us what went wrong?"

Wheeljack had already been going through possible problems with the design. The remains had been retrieved from the crater but there was not much left to look at and like Ratchet he couldn't do much before they returned to the Ark.

"Starscream!"

The inventor almost yelled the name out which resulted in said Seeker twitching a wing. Ratchet looked suspiciously between the two before glaring at Wheeljack.

"What could Starscream have done?"

They knew that Starscream had been the one to throw the device at the battling leaders but what could he have done in such a small amount of time.

"I don't know! Starscream is a scientist; he could have done anything to make it explode. He wouldn't like Megatron getting his hands on it in case bucket helm decided to use it on him. I mean he isn't what you would call a loyal follower."

That did sound like something Starscream would do, Starscream had gone against Megatron a few times if he didn't like what Megatron was doing. What stuck into mechs processors was the incident with Nightbird, the human designed robot, to keep his position in the Decepticon ranks. Another incident was, during one of his many frequent exiles, where he rebuilt the Combaticons.

"Starscream only touched it after it started to go critical... after Wheeljack shot him with it"

As if sensing that his name was constantly being thrown around Starscreams wings twitched but the Seeker did not wake.

"You mean that it might have worked on Starscream?"

No one wanted to comment on Skyfires question – if it had worked then the Shuttle would have gotten his friend back, but if not... well they would have to deal with the fall out.

Optimus had almost been forgotten as the Autobots discussed Starscream. The Autobot leader onlined his optics and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before they offlined again without saying anything.

"Wheeljack once we are back at the Ark you will help me fix this. I want you to do what I say when I say it. You will do nothing without guidance and certainly nothing in your lab until Optimus Prime is back on his pedes"

The Autobots back at the Ark could have heard what Ratchet was yelling at Wheeljack. This was back to being between them and no one else was going to help the inventor no matter how much he tried to guilt them into.

"How did you manage to graduate from the Academy with all your limbs intact? I assume that you didn't just learn how to blow slag up when you joined the Autobot ranks? Something must be wrong with you if you think that all your experiments must end in an explosion because none of the other scientists here manage that. Not even a Decepticon scientist blows as much slag as you and they go out of their fragging way to that goal"

Ratchet was really getting into his tirade and Wheeljack commed everyone for any assistance as it was going to get nasty.

"Ratchet since we are two hours away from the Ark at my top speed I would appreciate it if you could refrain from saying obscenities in my hold"

Ratchet opened and closed his mouth a few times before giving the hold wall a glare that would strip paint.

"I will fragging say what I want. Especially to mechs who can't get the simplest ideas through their thick helms"

There was a short shudder and Ratchets glare intensified.

"May I remind you that you cannot fly. I would once again ask you politely not to swear in my hold if you do not wish to get back to the Ark under your own power. Oh and with Optimus in such questionable condition I do not think we have the time for me to land"

It was a quick and efficient way of ending that tirade. Ratchet muttered something but no one managed to understand what he said. Wheeljack grinned under his mask, it was no wonder now how the Shuttle managed to tame the fiery Seeker.

The rest of the trip went in relative silence.

* * *

><p><em>A.N: I would like to thank my beta the insane one of another mind for looking this over. I am sorry about the wait between chapters I have had heaps to do. Hope the next one comes out faster than this one<em>


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The rest of the trip was quiet with Ratchet monitoring both Starscream and Prime.

Once they reached the Ark Starscream had been sent into the brig with Ironhide as a guard and First Aid to moniter him until he woke. Prime was escorted towards the med bay by Jazz and Prowl, they had enough instances of one of the cassettes taking advantage of an accident or injury to take it lightly.

Ratchet kept an optic on the machines that monitored Optimus's spark and processor and was a little worried. Both of them were completely different from what he had on file and with the addition of the failed device... well Ratchet was hoping that they had a place to put Prime that was strong enough to hold the Autobot leader while Wheeljack found a solution.

"Did anyone catch the number of the truck that hit me?"

Ratchet listened closely as the mech before him. There were enough subtle and not so subtle differences for Ratchet to realise that something was wrong.

"Who the frag are you?"

Optimus Prime looked confused at Ratchet and then down at his hands before looking back up to Ratchet. There was something that reminded Ratchet of a sparkling or a mech coming out of a deep stasis.

"Megatron. What the frag happened?"

The better question was what the frag happened to Optimus?

* * *

><p>There was none of the usual bickering amongst the Decepticons as they returned to the Nemesis. Soundwave was still carrying Megatron since the Decepticons lacked a shuttle (Astrotrain was currently on Cybertron).<p>

Starscream's absence didn't faze anyone as the red Seeker was well-known for being captured on the battlefield and traded for an Autobot captive. Even if he wasn't captured he made a habit of disappearing after a failed raid. Mainly it was to give Megatron enough time to vent his anger in a way that didn't leave Starscream spending his time in the med bay.

Most Decepticons avoided the med bay when Megatron was there. The only exceptions were Starscream, Soundwave and Shockwave.

Hook and Scrapper were both waiting in the control room with some basic repair supplies. The tally of wounded from their recent battles didn't give them an optimistic view of what would be coming down from the surface so it was a pleasent surprise to find that Megatron was the only one that really needed any attention.

Soundwave stayed long enough to know that Megatron was going to survive (and Starscream was not going to lead any time soon) before disappearing to tend to his Cassettes.

Since there was no obvious injuries to deal with Hook left Megatron lying on one of the berths and continued to tinker in his office. Odds were it would take another five hours before another mech chose to step over the threshold thinking Megatron had long since left.

Not that anyone would.

* * *

><p>Skywarp had teleported both himself and Thundercracker to their shared quarters. It was almost three times as large as a standard Decepticons quarters to accommodate their sensitive wings and because Starscream had generously argued with Megatron and Soundwave for it. Well Starscream had argued for the Seeker accommodation to be large enough to house an entire Trine even if he had his own quarters.<p>

Thundercracker sat down on his berth and flopped onto his back.

"So how long do you think it will take the Autobots to get bored of Screamer this time?"

The longest that the Autobots had held the Air Commander was only four days. It had ended with an almost frantic call from Jazz about where they could pick him up from. Rumble and Frenzy were still trying to find out just what had gone on.

"Skywarp you know that I don't bet with you"

The purple Seeker pouted as he sat down next to his wingmate.

"You are such a bore TC. Makes me wonder why I ever made a Trine with you. Or Screamer for that reason"

Thundercracker had heard this at least once a month. Why do I have you as a trine mate? Why don't you let me do anything **_interesting_**? Why can't I stockpile ammunition underneath my berth?

_{Because we are the best and you know it}_

The silent communication had both Seekers jumping. Starscream had closed his side of the bond down millenia ago and claimed that he would never open it again and he almost always stuck to his word. When he wasn't being beaten by Megatron that is.

_{Now what have I done to get the silent treatment?}_

Thundercracker could only smirk at Skywarps open mouth at Starscreams comment.

_{Nothing Star. Where are you?}_

The crimson Seeker almost never contacted them unless it was to inform them that they were idiots or that they had to attend a meeting. It had gotten to the point that Skywarp ignored him every time that he did and Thundercracker ended up dealing with the furious Air Commander.

_{The Ark. I just got out of stasis and I missed you. Someones coming so I will contact you as soon as I can}_

It took Thundercracker almost an hour to realise that Starscream was lacking his usual mocking tones.

* * *

><p>Scrapper, Long Haul and Mixmaster were looking down at the current proposal for Megatrons gunenergy collecting/Autobot destroying weapon. They were standing with their backs to their stasis locked master and were irrationally uncomfortable. It wasn't as if they were Starscream!

Slight beeps were the only sounds that could be heard in the med bay causing the three Constructicons to jump.

"Hey Scrapper can we take this into your office?"

With a slight nod of the helm the Constructicon leader picked up the schematics and started walking towards the back of the med bay when a shot hit the floor in front of him. There was only one mech left in the med bay.

Megatron had woken!

His fusion cannon was sill smoking as the tyrant glared at the three construction mechs. It was a wild and out of control look that didn't appear on the mechs face even when he was punishing Starscream. There was no cover in the immediate vicinity and Megatron easily could run them down before they made it to the exit or to Hooks office. They were trapped.

It was a shock when Megatron jolted, his optics turning black before falling. In the doorway Soundwave was standing with a slightly damaged Laserbeak on his shoulder holding his gun.

"Optimus Prime: neutralised"

* * *

><p><em>AN: Well this took me longer than I thought it would. I went to see DOTM at the cinema and nearly lost my appeal towards Transformers. Thankfully I tossed Beast Wars on and watched that numerous times. Since I changed the first part so that Starscream went with the Autobots I had to change this chapter with Skywarp and Thundercracker._

_Well I am still here and hopefully can still write._


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Starscream smiled broadly in his cell. He had successfully reopened communications with his Trine although the antagonistic tone they had used was unsettling. He knew everything that he had done, every action and word spoken, but it felt as though it had happened to someone else.

The only conclusion he could come up with was the latest of Wheeljacks failures.

The Autobots had placed him within his usual cell. Usual ugly orange walls, ceiling and floor with a berth bolted down in the middle of the room to accommodate his large wings. There were pale scratches on the walls were he had written some vague idea down in his boredom that grew with each time he was placed inside.

"It is about time that you woke"

Starscreams helm whipped toward the sound of the voice. Skyfire was standing next to the door of the cell staring at him.

"We need to talk"

There was nowhere to go as Skyfire disengaged the energy beams that made up the front of the cell and stepped in. Starscream could only note that his weapons had either been stripped from him or rendered inactive as he backed away.

"I want to know why?"

The ambiguous question made Starscream even more nervous than what he had been before. Why what? Why did he join the Decepticons? He had already answered that one. Why had he thrown the weapon? Didn't want to get blown up. What did Skyfire want?

"I-I don't know"

Skyfire stared at the scratchings on the wall for quite a while before walking out. There had been no indication that he had heard what he wanted to hear.

* * *

><p>It had taken just over an hour before anyone would go near the bodily displaced Megatron. Even though the warlord pleaded that he wouldn't hurt anyone it still took time for the Autobots to feel even slightly comfortable.<p>

"Maybe we can talk in a more private setting"

Whipping around Ratchet and Wheeljack noticed the mechs standing in the doorway staring at them. Nothing on the Ark had captured the imaginations of the Autobots for so long. No one was even sure how the information had spread to the general population but Prowl had his suspicions.

Namely the Lambo twins

As Ratchet made a move towards the door both the aforementioned SIC and Jazz appeared just as the majority of onlookers made a dash towards the exit.

"Well they seem to be smarter than I thought"

As Ratchet made his way back towards Megatron it stunned everyone else in the room that he apologised quickly. Prowl and Jazz quietly led Megatron down to Optimus study leaving a stunned Ratchet and Wheeljack behind in the med bay.

Megatron made himself instantly comfortable in the only chair in the room. Prowl and Jazz didn't know what to do, usually they would sit but that had been with Prime.

"Are you going to make me stare up at you all day?"

Both the SIC and TIC missed the slightly smug smile that Megatron gave as they rushed to sit in the two visitor seats available. Nothing was spoken as time slowly ticked by with nothing said.

The silence was almost deafening until Megatron cleared 'his' throat.

"Well what are we going to do now?"

Just the notion of Megatron talking to anyone in a calm and rational manner seemed to keep both Jazz and Prowl mute. Megatron started tapping his fingers on the desk in impatience as neither of the Autobots in front of him spoke.

Maybe they would need Wheeljack to come in for a chat.

Two sighs of relief sounded as a subtle knock on the door heralded Bumblebee. The Guardian looked scared and didn't enter other than to peak around the door.

"Soundwave wants to talk to you Opt... uh..."

With that ungraceful sentence Bumblebee disappeared quickly to the sound of laughter. It sounded as if some of the other Autobots had dared the youngster into telling them.

"Well lets go and see what Soundwave wants"

By now Megatron was just doing whatever he could to creep the Autobots out. Giving them both a wide smile he got up and almost bounced towards the Command Centre of the Ark. Ratchet was having a conversation with Hook on a separate screen while Soundwave was staring impassively at the Autobots who had congregated.

"Greetings Lord Megatron"

Megatron's face screwed up before calming down. Most of the other mechs in the Command Room had guessed that Soundwaves telepathy would be a burden on the Decepticon leader especially after one of Starscreams take over attempts.

"What happened Soundwave?"

You could get almost nothing from the Decepticon TIC, this communication was odd since the mech kept looking down at something at his feet and pushing down every now and again. What was irritating the mech was soon obvious when Ravage jumped up and settled down on his creators shoulders.

"Optimus Prime: came out of recharge had trouble with the Gladiatorial programming and attempted to shoot the Constructicons"

That wasn't news to anyone.

"Suggestion: convene in a neutral location and discuss options"

Megatron looked towards Prowl.

"Technically I am not the Autobot leader so that puts you in charge. What should we do?"

Once more silence descended upon the Ark. If this was how they conducted business without Prime at the wheel Megatron was going to have to make some changes.

* * *

><p><em>AN: No I have not forgotten this story yet. It has just taken me a little time to get around to writing again. Oh and stories like Starscreams list, Replacement List and MSN messenger will now be on AO3 (Archive of Our Own) soon under the username The_Wannabe_666 and I won't be putting them back up here._


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Soundwave was one of the few mechs on the Nemesis that would go near their new and (violently) improved leader. This had more to do with his training as a gladiator than due to his telepathic ability. Primes emotions and thoughts moved far too fast for him to pick up, it was due to being unused to the programming he had now.

Having never been a gladiator himself Soundwave didn't have the same problem. When a mech signed on as a gladiator they usually had new programming implemented without their knowing. This programming played with emotion and rational thinking which in the arena led to a more entertaining fight but prevented a mech from interacting with anyone normally.

Megatron had never been inconvenienced by this.

Now somehow Soundwave had to get through the violence and anger to Prime. Within five seconds the TIC knew that this would take longer than what he had. Since Prime was consciously denying the change he couldn't fight what his programming was telling him.

"Hey Boss what are you doing in here?"

The tiny voice of Frenzy floated in from the doorway, Soundwave had deposited the cassettes in their shared quarters and demanded that they stay there or face serious consequences. If any of them were to leave Soundwave had expected Rumble or Ravage.

Megatron had seen Frenzy and Soundwave tensed, this could go multiple ways with no good ending. Frenzy seemed to instinctively know something was wrong and started to back out but suddenly stopped when Prime took a step towards him. The cassette wanted to flee but any motion towards the door would only enrage the mech more.

"Please: Frenzy is only a youngling"

Soundwave had been so scared for his cassette that he had dropped his usual monotone. Even this plea had no effect on Prime who strode up to the frightened cassette and Soundwave was prepared to take any measure necessary to prevent injury.

"Please don't hurt him"

This time the plea seemed to stop Prime momentarily and Soundwaves spark lurched when Prime reached down. Soundwave started but for some reason Prime only picked Frenzy up and placed him in his arms. The cassette was shaking so hard and Soundwave waved Hook over.

"Order: take Frenzy to quarters. Make sure he is calm and stay with cassettes"

Bonecrusher had taken up position outside the door to prevent any one else from crossing into the med bay and to direct them to the temporary med bay. Scrapper had thought that opening a temporary med bay and splitting up the Constructions was a bad idea but now he was being ignored.

"What... is happening... to me?"

The question was broken and gave Soundwave hope that Prime was at least trying to deal with his new programming.

"Prime: switched places with Megatron due to Wheeljacks invention blowing up"

The response that he got from that statement was not what Soundwave expected. Prime laughed deeply and insanely and Soundwave hoped that he was not slipping back into insanity so quickly. It would have been too good for Prime to constantly remain lucid.

With that new sense of lucidity Soundwave was able to glean much more from Primes processor than before. It was curious that the urge to deactivate Starscream had only been mildly dampened.

Now the task of preparing Prime was down to just impossible.

* * *

><p>Prowl had crashed almost as soon as Megatron asked him what they were to do. Ratchet had responded in the exact same way he would have done if Prime had of been in charge; yelled and screamed until his vocaliser shorted.<p>

"I can't BELIEVE the IMMATURITY that you have displayed today. Does NOTHING get through your thick helm? Honestly does Soundwave hand over defective reports? OR DO YOU JUST NOT READ THEM?"

Mechs in the command room where worried about what Megatron would do to the CMO. They feared that he would end up being in the hands of Wheeljack but they stood in awe as the mech took the tirade.

"I skim, they are usually five thousand pages long"

Just the shear amount of work that Soundwave put in was enough for most Autobots to either respect Soundwave or to pity Megatron. That was before they thought of how much Shockwave would send or write.

"I DIDN'T ASK FOR AN ANSWER! No wonder Starscream is CONSTANTLY betraying you if you are doing everything to ANTAGONISE him. I wonder just HOW you are able to lead the Decepticons"

Nothing was going to stop the CMO from berating Megatron and half the onlookers thought he needed the discipline. The other half were wondering what would happen once Megatron got his body back with the discipline... well Brawn was already moaning that they were all going to die.

"Ratchet you are dismissed. You still have a patient to see or do you Autobots routinely allow debilitating conditions go unfixed for long periods of time"

It was something close to what Prime would have said that most of the Autobots paused. Prowl was indeed still lying prone on the floor with Jazz trying to get the much heavier door winger off to the med bay.

"This isn't over yet"

Jazz squeaked as Ratchet effortlessly picked the SIC up and stomped off. Being TIC the saboteur was having trouble deciding on staying and helping with the orders or going to the med bay with his bonded.

"There is one thing that Soundwave was never able to find out; who the frag is the Autobot fourth in command?"

* * *

><p><em>AN: About time that I finally got around to adding a new chapter. Should have done it ages ago. Also no one noticed when I uploaded this that Starscream was with the Decepticons and the Autobots? Just changed the chapter a bit._


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Starscream wondered what was happening outside the brig. He could hear some mechs running around and talking quite quickly about something happening with Prime but nothing that could sate his curiosity.

There had been no visitors allowed since Skyfire and that meant that there was no who would speak to him. It hadn't taken the Autobots long to realise that he would taunt and annoy the guards on duty and so they didn't respond to him.

Usually by now he would have spoken with Prime, Prowl or Jazz but none of them had arrived. Mostly it was to discover where the Decepticons were going to attack but on the rare occasion it was to find out if the 'Con in question would go neutral.

Maybe that was why they were taking so long to interrogate him.

Of course he wouldn't leave. He was so close to taking down Megatron and becoming Decepticon leader… wasn't he? He spent more time in either brig and in med bay than anyone on either faction. Was hated by the majority of his comrades especially Megatron.

Would he leave?

* * *

><p>Soundwave was once more annoyed. Hook had come rushing in after Rumble who was for some reason riding Ravage.<p>

"Query: why are you out of our quarters?"

Ravage began poking and prodding his younger co-creation. It would seem that the blue Cassetticon had devised this entire break out, either that or Ravage was hoping that Soundwave would believe him over whatever Rumble said.

"Well we came out to see what was stressing you so much. We felt that you needed us"

That was sweet, it wasn't as if the Cassetticons weren't, they just didn't show it that often. With Prime... wait since the two Cassetticons had barged in with Hook there hadn't been a sign of the improved tyrant.

"Hook: return Cassettes to quarters, do not let them leave"

He had no way of knowing what Primes mindset would be and Soundwave didn't want to put any of his creations in the line. Sending a mass comm out informing the army that they should be on the look out and if they did spot Prime that they should contact him.

In such close quarters any guns going off would cause significant damage to both the mechs and the ship. No one wanted Starscream to lead any more than they wanted to fix their underwater base.

It was an agonising time organising search parties, who had the nerve to search for Prime. There was good news in that he had not left the Nemesis, Wildrider had been on duty and he claimed that he hadn't left his station for a good five hours. That still left them a considerable amount to search.

Between the time that they crashed and the first Energon raid the first Decepticons had built a miniature city on the ocean floor. Most of which had been either decommissioned by the Constructicons when they arrived for bad construction and was uninhabited. There were still areas you could get into though which served for brigs or science labs.

Or as Soundwave hid a grin behind his mask, as areas to hide multitudes of stolen or illegal High Grade.

They were running out of time. The meeting with the Autobots was fast arriving and they still couldn't find their de-facto leader. It was finally due to Soundwave giving in to Ravage that they found him.

Soundwave would have to have a talk with all five of his Cassettes when this was over.

Prime was standing in front of the ornamental window that had been built into one of the old Seeker quarters. There were tiny leaks everywhere and Soundwave knew that they would have to seal the old area off or risk having the whole Nemesis flood.

"I can't believe..."

There wasn't enough time for Prime to go into a spiel about how the sight outside the window was beautiful.

"I can't believe how much I want to shoot something"

Now that was back to their leaders' usual mental state. Ushering Prime back to the command room Soundwave sent a com to Scrapper about sealing the area off and made a mental note to take Prime to the shooting range as soon as possible.

All of the troops were waiting in the docking tower and after a short and uncomfortable ride Prime stood uncomfortable. Giving a weird, distorted look for a second Prime perked up noticeably and in a voice that was far too creepy for Megatron chirped up.

"Decepticons transform and... rise up"

* * *

><p>There was a flurry of movement as the Autobots tried to threaten (Ironhide), bribe (Smokescreen), seduce (SideswipeBluestreak) or yell (Ratchet) their way into the meeting. It would seem that the Autobots had forgotten that they were not dealing with Optimus Prime.

Bluestreak had stopped talking when he realised just who he was hitting on and fled as fast as his alt mode could travel. Sideswipe on the other hand had just tried harder, even going so far as to act a bit like Starscream. That wasn't going to get him anywhere.

In the end it ended up being Ironhide, Blaster, Skyfire, Bumblebee and Megatron to meet Soundwave, Starscream, Blitzwing, Breakdown and Prime. Prowl had been confined to the med bay for another three days (without work) with Jazz standing by to make sure that he didn't exert himself too much.

There seemed to be some sort of hold up in the launching bay, none of the Autobots had transformed for the drive/flight to the meeting. They seemed to want him to do or say something that Megatron didn't know about, it wasn't as if he had Soundwave watch the Ark constantly. There was something that he could barely remember but it was so faint that Megatron ignored it.

"Uh... Autobots... transform and...uh frag it just roll out"

* * *

><p><em>AN: New chapter up a little bit sooner. There was a mistake in the last chapter that happened because I used an old version of the chapter. Thank you guest for replying and I kept that scene the exact same_


End file.
